Into the Storm: Author Talk with Jamie Kay Palmer

Once the most talked about tragedy on the waters of Green Bay, this nearly forgotten story is powerfully retold in Jamie Kay Palmer’s historical novel, Into the Storm: Inspired by the true story of the Half Mood and her only survivor. Set against the backdrop of World War II-era Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, the book recounts the life, struggles, and successes of the prominent shipbuilding family of Leathem D. Smith. Join us for a discussion with the author followed by a book signing.

Coffee and Granary cookies will be served.

On June 23, 1946, following a spirited regatta in Menominee, Michigan. Leathem’s sailboat, Half Moon, is caught in a violent storm while crossing the waters of Green Bay toward home. Only his teenage daughter, Patsy, survives – defying nature and all odds. Battling hurricane-force winds, frigid water and relentless waves, she swims for an astonishing six and half hours through the darkness to reach safety. 

Into the Storm is an emotionally powerful narrative of one family’s rise and fall, and one young woman’s extraordinary will to live.

About Jamie Kay Palmer:

Palmer has always been a storyteller. In her books she seamlessly blends reality and fantasy, so the reader is instantly transported into the writing. Her background in psychology equips her with an innate understanding of her character’s motivations and inner workings which come to life in her books.

  She started her storytelling in elementary school classrooms, where she would dress as Mother Nature and entertain the children with stories about animals and the environment, her other passions.

While working as a Psychotherapist and Mediator, Palmer also contributed to three Midwest newspapers, writing monthly behavioral health columns for the Kane County Chronicle, the Dekalb County Chronicle, and later the Door County Advocate.

She started writing Children’s books around 20 years ago. One of those books, The House that Moved, is currently the 2026 featured book at the Story Book Trail in Murphy Park. Her books can be found in stores throughout Door County. But it wasn’t until 2023, when she was doing some research on Sturgeon Bay and its shipwrecks, that she came upon the tragic story of the racing schooner, Half Moon that sunk off the shores of Green Island in 1946; and that is why we have her here with us today. 

In her spare time, Jamie Palmer sings for the Swingin’ Door Big Band, the jazz band she started with her husband in 2019; she narrates for the Peninsula Symphonic Band; heads up an invasive plant eradication program with the Bay Shore Property Owners Association; volunteers as an usher at Peninsula Players; and still finds time to visit her kids and grandchildren in Illinois and beyond.

Jamie Kay Palmer’s books can be found at various retail shops throughout Door County and on Amazon. She will also be available after the presentation to sign books.